OpenLogic CloudSwing PaaS Tracks Costs

One of the most popular models for cloud usage and deployment is the Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model. PaaS models to date haven't always been as enterprise-focused as they should be according to OpenLogic, which is why the company is launching the CloudSwing PaaS.

CloudSwing supports multiple languages and platforms including, Java, Ruby, PHP and JavaScript with support for, Tomcat, LAMP, node.js and nginx. CloudSwing also provides cost tracking to help enterprises accurately understand what their cloud usage costs. OpenLogic is using a combination of open source and proprietary technology to enable the CloudSwing PaaS.

"The problem we run into in the enterprise is that in the enterprise they have one of everything," Kim Weins, senior vice president of marketing at OpenLogic told InternetNews.com. "They use many different languages for their application across many platforms."

Weins added that while enterprises run a lot of open source, there is also a need for proprietary software, too. She added that CloudSwing provides pre-built platforms that let enterprise deploy in the language of their choice. The platform also provides for customizability as well.

Management and monitoring for applications in the cloud is another key attribute of CloudSwing. She noted that the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud providers can provide monitoring at a higher level, but enterprises must understand how their specific applications are performing.

Understanding costs is another critical component of enterprise cloud deployment. Weins explained that the CloudSwing cost management module is able to span across multiple cloud deployments. The system is designed to provide enterprises with a big picture of how much they are spending.

"This will enable enterprises to see how they are tracking, if they're meeting budgets and helps to get away from the surprise model of cost management," Weins said.

OpenLogic as a company is no stranger to enterprise application deployments. The OpenLogic Enterprise (OLEX) product offering, which has been in the market since at least 2007, is all about helping enterprise application deployments into the data center.

OpenLogic also provides support for open source components in the cloud. That support is different in the cloud then the data center for a number of different reasons.

"We also help enterprises with how open source packages operate and are configured within the cloud itself," Weins said. "When you deploy in the cloud, latency is different, security is different and architecture is different."

In contrast with competitors, such as VMware's CloudFoundry PaaS, Weins stressed that CloudSwing is taking a different approach. She noted that today many PaaS providers lock-in enterprises to a given platform's configuration choices.

"We've taken a different approach to say that enterprises want control and we need to let them customize what the stack is and how it scales," Weins said. It's still early days for CloudSwing and the initial release will be followed with additional versions and capabilities in the months to come.

"The edition of CloudSwing that we're now rolling out is the base edition," Weins said. "We will be adding two more editions, one is dev/test and the other a production edition and those will include functionality that is specific to those use cases."